Overview
- South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said around ten ballistic missiles were launched from the Sunan area near Pyongyang at about 1:20 p.m., flying toward the East Sea.
- Japan’s Defense Ministry estimated the projectiles reached roughly 80 km in altitude and traveled about 340 km before splashdown outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, with no damage reported.
- Seoul and Tokyo elevated surveillance postures, shared information with the United States, and signaled readiness for potential additional launches.
- The salvo took place during the 11‑day Freedom Shield exercises that North Korea condemns, following recent cruise‑missile launches from a new North Korean destroyer.
- Regional tensions also reflect Japan’s planned deployments of upgraded Type‑12 long‑range missiles, which North Korea’s KCNA denounced as a dangerous step and warned could cross a “red line.”